A White Christmas

It was, indeed, a white Christmas for us this year. It was so much fun to go through Christmas morning with an occasional peek outside at the white lawn and rooftops.

On Christmas morning, all of the kids, Hayden, Payson and Madison plus cousins Mikayla, Chloe and Emma, waited upstairs. Once the adults were ready with cameras in hand, the kids made their descent down the stairs. The little kids had no idea what they were in for!

The little kids immediately headed to the fireplace where they were greeted with full stockings, their first gift (stick horses) and remnants of their cookies for Santa. Hayden discovered this Snoopy in her stocking and was all smiles as she exclaimed, "Nnnoopy!" She only knows Snoopy from the Halloween Snoopy inflatable a neighbor had down the street but she loves him as if she's an avid Peanuts reader.

Check out the awesome reaction we got from Payson when he found a wooden recycling truck in his stocking...Woahh. It was the classic reaction that parents dream about, and I happened to be ready for the shot. No, he wasn't excited about the recycling part, it was simply the fact that it was a truck.

Later Payson added to his Hot Wheels collection. He quickly lined the new ones up as if he were sizing them up to see which ones he got.

Books, books and more books. We have four book stations around the house and on the days we don't leave the house, I can easily hear upwards of 50 requests to read books. They loved a few of their Christmas books this year so we gave them the same brand of books that will last them year-round.

Hayden modeling Mommy's new t-shirt.

After opening presents we cooked up a big American breakfast and then headed outside to enjoy the remaining crunchy snow. This time the kids spent the majority of the time trying to make snowballs and eating it as Hayden is doing in this picture.

Payson and Emma taste-tested the snow off the outdoor playset.

Madison's playtime was cut short by a bloody, busted lip. The patio was covered in ice and she stepped on it before I could stop her and face planted into their little plastic picnic table. She had plenty of hands to help care for her inside and had no problem with the extra attention once the sting wore off. Here she is putting on her best pout face with Uncle Barry.

After a long afternoon of cooking Christmas dinner, it was break time! Chloe, Mikayla, Emma, Hayden, GP and Aunt Chelsey settled in to watch The Polar Express. It didn't take long for the adults to fall asleep.

Grandma joined us for the second half of the day. The kids are spoiled when either grandma is around, but with both Grandma and Grammy they have all of the attention they could ever need!

That evening the thirteen of us gathered, or should I say crammed, around our dining room table for a traditional Melker holiday meal including turkey and all the fixins. By the time the meal was over, the breakdowns had begun and it was time to get the exhausted kiddos to bed.

The next day we asked the kids to sit in front of the Christmas tree for a picture and all six walked over to it as if they've followed such directions a million times. Let me assure you that they haven't (the little kids anyway). We were all amazed at how easy it was (for once!) to get a picture of all six together.